Suggestions on publishing non fiction?

[Sea Star]

I just read Joy's inquiry about needing help with getting fiction published. I was very interested in the replies that encouraged writers to do free short stories for various Christian magazines. Can you give those of us who are working on non-fiction, any suggestions along the same line? I assume there are magazines that would want true stories as well as fiction, should I be checking some of the same sources?

Also, if something is published in a magazine, whether free or paid, does it become the sole property of the magazine, or is the author able to use it for a broader work later on? Say he or she takes a chapter from a much larger work & submits it as a short story & it's acccepted. Would they then have to exclude that chapter from a future published work? Thanks for any & all input on this! Miralee

[kriswrite]

Nonfiction is my area of expertise, so fire away with the questions! :)

Nonfiction writers should always be on the lookout for new magazines, so yes, seek out magazines that publish Christian nonfiction (Christianity Today, Today's Christian Woman, Guideposts, etc.). You will have the best success if you choose a magazine you want to write for, study it, and then come up with article ideas directly targeted to that audience. (As opposed to coming up with an idea, and then trying to find a suitable market.)

In most cases, your writing remains yours when it is published. You will most commonly be selling "first rights" or "one time rights," which gives the publisher the opportunity to publish the work once. You might also sell "reprint rights" (which means they can reprint at any time without paying you more money), or "electronic rights" (so they can publish your work on the Internet), but the pay should be higher if they are taking these rights.

In some cases, magazines buy "all rights," which means you can never reprint or reuse the article again. When you sell "all rights," the copyright remains yours, but the publisher is the only one with the right to print the work...and they can print it wherever and whenever they look (including in book format). You want to avoid selling "all rights," but if you choose to do this, the pay should be much higher than if you sell only "one time rights." And yes, if you sold a chapter from a book to a magazine, and they bought "all rights," you would have to delete that chapter from your book.

Your contract (which is sometimes nothing more than a letter of agreement) should specify which rights the publisher is buying. If it doesn't, don't hesitate to write in "one time rights," or call to ask which rights the publisher wants to buy.

I hope that makes sense!

Kristina
www.kristinaseleshanko.com

[Sea Star]

Hi Kristina, thank you so much for your reply. That is exactly the type of information I was looking for! I do have the 2004 edition of Christian Writers Market & assume I should begin there looking at the listings for Women's magazines? Altho a couple of the pieces wouldn't just be specific to women so I could expand that a bit I assume. I was very concerned about the "all rights" issue, so it helps to understand the various levels & how to approach it when selling an article. Thank you again, I'll definitely let you know when I have more questions, but for now you were very thorough! Miralee

[kriswrite]

You know, as much as I hate to say this, I have never found The Christian Writer's Market useful. The problem is that it tends to go out of date quickly...and I've found that many publishers listed in it turn out to be vanity publishers. So...just be aware that you'll want to double check everything you find in this market guide.

As an alternative, The Writer's Market is good, although the "religion" section is small. Poking around on the web, and at newsstands, is what I find most helpful.

Best wishes,
Kristina
www.kristinaseleshanko.com